looking for a portable wall mounting system..

[briansommers]

I like to paint vertically.. so I've covered my wall in plastic then drive nails into the wall to hang my canvases.. the problem is the nails work themselves loose over time in the drywall and now I pull out the nails to put them in somewhere else and over time I'm gonna end up with a ruined wall completely because of all the worn holes in the drywall

I need a system that would be flexible to hang 16"x20" up to 6 foot canvases but where I can only have two holes or whatever.. I'm thinking like a rod where I can hang hooks down and slide them across but..

any ideas? links?

thanks

[artistinmemphis]

I found a good idea, waiting on okay from the artist to post it. I was thinking of a heavy curtain track that has two poles coming down and you move along the track..... but I think it would be wobbly.

[artistinmemphis]

Here's a nice solution, posted with permission from the artist:

http://blog.marywagstaff.com/2008/08/wall-easel.html

[briansommers]

interesting a bit more involved then what I was hoping for but non the less.. very effective for sure.
I'm wondering in just investing in a good easel might do the trick.

[Aires]

This is probably not what you are looking for but a pegboard panel is low cost; add a bag of attachments of your choice and it is useful for hanging wet paintings to dry or for displaying framed and finished art work. With the arm attaachements I see no reason why it couldn't adapt for easel use. Just a thought and adaptable to any size needed.

[briansommers]

Oy! that is so simple.. I couldn't even think of it.. brilliant, thanks

[artistinmemphis]

One other idea- shelving standards with a wood shelf. Move the shelf up and down as needed. Here's someone using this idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7vdhDvYlfU
I think he has some bits of wood screwed or glued down to the wood shelf, that kind of keep the bottom of the painting from slipping off the shelf. The top is just held by gravity.

[wsrea]

Brian, here's a solution, too, involving less woodworking.

1. Attach eyescrews (or eyebolts) along the edge of an eight-foot length of 1x2 poplar at whatever interval you want. Repeat for another length. Screw both assemblies to wall studs near the ceiling and near the floor. Now you've made an eight-foot square easel.

2. Securely tie paracord (designed to be "not stretchy," and it supports 550 pounds--Google "550 paracord" if you can't find a local source) to the upper right eyescrew, run it through whatever hanging devices you have attached to your canvas (more eyescrews?), up through the upper left eyescrew, and tie it off on the bottom left. Height of the canvas is controlled by tightening or loosening this cord.

3. Attach two bungee cords to the lower corners of the canvas and out laterally to the bottom eyescrews. These act as tensioners.

The disadvantage to this system is the need for multiple screw holes on the back of the canvas frame.

[libby2]

Brian, drywall is soft and crumbly, if you want the nails to stay you'll need to find the studs and use nails long enough so they can reach & get a good hold in them. A good alternative would be to use anchors, drill a hole, put them in and they will hold screws nicely.

This is what the drywall anchors look like:http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

[briansommers]

good ideas.. I'm loving the shelf thing the best.. in fact the idea came to me why not just put a small little table up to the wall to act as my shelf..

I have a 2'x4' table that adjust in 3 heights - perfect for different size canvases. I'll try that and see how it grabs me.. I'll post pix later on today.. gotta get some other stuff done first.